Revolt on Mars - Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle

21 November 2013

Author Stephen Baxter gave an awestruck audience a whistle-stop tour of his work and the work of other authors that inspired him.

He challenged us with difficult situations and decisions. Demonstrating both the harsh cold reality of future space travel but also the amazing opportunities of it. All from a truly planet-sized imagination.

Baxter, in addition to his own novels, has collaborated with authors such as Terry Pratchett and Arthur C. Clarke. He probed the variety of ways in which different authors tackle the subject of space-travel, and touched on the political motivations behind them.

His talk was guaranteed to satisfy both the most experienced sci-fi fanatics, and those who have yet to venture into the unknown.

Stephen has very kindly made available to us a draft of a paper he has written, entitled “The Cold Equations: Extraterrestrial Liberty in Science Fiction” (PDF, 187 KB), which contains many of the themes discussed in the talk. It will form part of a book book based on the BIS ''ET liberty” seminar, to be published by Springer in 2014. Please note that views and opinions given in the paper are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Physics.

Missed out? Join us for more science at our IOP monthly public lecture series, and more science-fiction in "The Science of Superheroes" in April 2014.